Hi everyone!!  SylveonKwami here.

This chapter might be slightly shorter, only because I don't have a lot of time to write it.  It also might seem kinda pointless, but ACTUAL INTERESTING STORY POINTS will start to pop up soon, I assure you.  I don't like short chapters anymore than you do.  

Also swear-word warning in this chapter.  It happens once, and it is censored, but I still wanted to let you all know.

So... with that, let's begin.

Enjoy ^w^

Adrien

Chat Noir held onto Ladybug's shoulder, determined, but still a little shaken up from the day's earlier events.  He could have died when his classmates had dropped him.

But you didn't, he reminded himself.  He shook his head, clearing his thoughts.  Now is not the time to worry about that stuff.  My Lady needs me, and I need to help her.

"My Lady, are you oka-"

"I'm fine, Adrien," she said curtly.  Chat pursed his lips.  Why did our classmates have to do that to us...

"We need to get Shrinkinator's Akuma, before it's too late," she said.  "If we don't, I'm afraid that HawkMoth will finish his plan..."

"What plan, M'lady?" Chat asked, wind whipping at his hair as they soared across the rooftops of Paris.

"Obviously, he's been using the victim for something," Ladybug said, stopping for a small break.  "If we don't get the Akuma, the plan could continue."

"R-Right," Chat said, determination flowing through his veins.  And, not to mention, capturing the Akuma would make me normal again.  All of this craziness would end.

"Hey, Chat, look," she whispered, pointing to something down below.  Chat followed her gaze, his eyes hardening.  There, sitting next to the fountain, was Shrinkinator, and he was looking... bored?  Both heroes looked at each other, confused, then looked back at the akuma victim.  He was literally leaning against the base of the structure, looking at his fingers, and tapping his foot.  Chat looked back at Ladybug, and she looked... frustrated, to say the least.  He felt his face harden, thinking to himself.  The nerve of that guy...

"What's the plan, M'lady?" Chat asked, his voice as hardened as his face.  "Do we just go down and fight?"

"Hmm..." Ladybug paused, thinking to herself for a short bit, then shook her head.  "I wanna talk to him first," she explained.

"We need to get information out of him," Chat added.  "Find out what he's been up to all this time.  Stay on your guard," he added as Ladybug jumped down below.  She gave him a small nod, and he knew that she didn't want to wind up with the same fate as him.  

Shrinkinator noticed them, then stood up straight.  "Well, you two are certainly slow,"  he commented, looking at them sternly.  

Ladybug scowled at the man, but said nothing.

"Doing the silent treatment now, are we?" he questioned, walking closer to the pair.  Ladybug remained quiet, and so did Chat.  Shrinkinator, slowly becoming visibly angry, stood right in front of Ladybug, lifting her chin to face him.

"You're gonna regret not talking," he said.  "And you better start, or your tiny little kitten goes flying."

"You didn't ask me anything yet," she retorted, looking at him squarely in the eyes.  "How am I supposed to answer anything if I don't know what to say?"

"Well well well.  Looks like we have a smart bug on our hands," he mused, flashing a grin at Chat.  He didn't know what it was supposed to mean, so he just scowled back.  He's trying to act as if we're friends or something... just what is he trying to do here?

"Look, scum, I kinda had a s*** day today," Ladybug said.  Chat didn't know what to say- this was the first time he'd heard her swear in the entire time that he'd known her.  "So I'm kinda fed up with you right now."

Ladybug walked closer, the fire in her eyes burning bright.  "So let's just say I'm in no mood to answer any ridiculous questions that you might have for me.  And neither is Chat," she added firmly, his nod affirming her response. 

"I'm in no mood to be someone's therapist today," Shrinkinator retorted, crossing his arms.  He flashed a smile, and Chat noticed it twisting at the ends.  "But I have something else in mind."

"Bring it," Ladybug challenged, swinging her yo-yo at her side.  Chat watched as it whizzed past his face multiple times, slightly messing up his hair- though it was already messed up because of his transformation.

"Oh ho ho.  With your costume and your new size, you could certainly end up on the wrong side of a fly-swat," Shrinkinator taunted, aiming and firing his shrinking-ray at Ladybug.  She easily dodged, trying to swing at the villain with her own weapon.  Unfortunately, he was just as good at dodging as she was, and she only managed to hit him once, if at all.  And I even forgot that we still don't know where the Akuma is hiding... darn it!

"You're too easy to fight," Shrinkinator commented while aiming a kick at Ladybug's side.  He landed it perfectly, and Chat winced as his lady let out a small hiss of pain.  But despite this, he could tell that Ladybug was far from giving up.  

"Oh really?  Then why haven't you shrank me yet then?" she retorted, giving the villain a sly smile.  Chat heard small cheers, and turned his head to see a few people gathering at the side of the fight.  I mean, I normally wouldn't object to adoring fans watching us, but this time it's kinda dangerous... I mean, we don't know where the akuma is, and this guy's REALLY dangerous.  

Wait a second...

Chat didn't focus on the crowd for long, but among the viewers were Alya, Nino, Chloe, and the rest of their class.  They... they didn't... did they?

Do they know?

I have to talk with Mari about this after.

"I'm just sparing you," Shrinkinator said coyly.  "I need one of you decent for my plan- looks like we got the smarter one," he added, laughing as Chat became slightly angry at the insult.

"Then why fight?" Ladybug pressed as she whacked her yo-yo against his head with a satisfying thwap.  The duo smiled as Shrinkinator clutched his head in pain; only a small fraction of the pain that he'd caused upon the two of them.  Ladybug stood still, looking at the villain triumphantly.  "Why fight if there's no point?"

"Do... do I really need a reason?" Shrinkinator asked, clearly trying to recover from the hard blow.  

"Yes," Chat said, realizing that this was the first time he'd spoken words to Shrinkinator, at least in this fight.  Chat stood up on Ladybug's shoulder, trying to make the most of his height.  "You're endangering thousands of citizens just by being here, of course you need a reason!"

"The pip-squeak speaks," Shrinkinator said instead of answering.  "You know, I understand why "Your Lady" always calls you "Kitty" now... though I think you're slightly smaller than-"

"Just. Answer. The. Question," Ladybug interrupted, trying to defend her partner.  

"Okay, okay, just chill," the villain defended, getting a little fussy.  He sighed.  "Fine, you wanna know my reason?  My reason is-" suddenly, the akuma victim got interrupted when HawkMoth's trademark symbol appeared on his face.  It quickly disappeared, and the villain looked smugly at the two of them.

"My reason is meaningless right now," Shrinkinator said, throwing the heroes a mock salute.  When he finished, he jumped up into the air, ran along some roofs, then disappeared.  Chat could feel Ladybug's shoulders slump, and he himself let out a sigh of relief, happy that they could finally take a break.

"I wonder what that was all about," Ladybug pondered.  "He was clearly trying to distract us from something-"

"I second that," Chat agreed.  "We have to be extra cautious from now on."

"Definitely," Ladybug said, flashing him a small smile.  She took out her yo-yo again, ready to swing home.  "Let's go home, I'm feeling kinda done for today-"

"Hey, LB!  Care for a few pics?"

Both Chat and Ladybug turned around to see Alya waving her phone out in front of them, while the rest of their classmates watched curiously from the sidelines.  Chat wondered how his partner would react- after all, Alya had heavily betrayed her.

Just as he thought, Ladybug frowned, closed her eyes, and shook her head.  She held out her hand, the one that wasn't holding the yo-yo, out to Alya, as a signal to stop.  "I'm not in the mood," she said coldly.  With nothing else, she swung her yo-yo up high and swung away.  For a moment, Chat looked back towards the frustrated pleas of Marinette's former best friend, then turned back towards the hardened face of his lady.  

They got to Marinette's house in silence, and entered into her room before detransforming.  Marinette quickly set Adrien on the table, fetching some cookies and cheese for their starved kwamis.  He quickly realized that all of Marinette's stuff was still at the school, except for her usual purse that she always wore.  He watched as his Princess walked over to her desk, sat down in her chair, and-

Oh.

Oh no.

Oh no no no no.

-started to cry.

Congrats, you've reached the end of the chapter!!  Okay, this chapter turned out longer than I thought.  Still, I hope it was enjoyable to read!!  

If you haven't seen my announcement about it, my updates will be irregular throughout the month of May, because of school.  I should hopefully be able to update regularly again in June, so cross your fingers!!

Anyway, that's it.  Stay tuned for more, everyone!!!